


A Kiss Like That

by RonRos47



Category: Roswell (TV 1999)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 17:24:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17943980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RonRos47/pseuds/RonRos47
Summary: On the day of Isabel's wedding to Jesse things don't exactly go as planned when Michael decides that he's seen enough leaving Isabel to make a choice.





	A Kiss Like That

She stood there up front clad in a white dress. All he could think about was how beautiful she looked. He tried to keep his thoughts at bay but they just kept coming. Michael tried to focus and let this be Isabel’s day because it was. She deserved all of this, she deserved the wedding of her dreams.

Yet Michael couldn’t stop wondering, couldn’t stop thinking. Despite all of these thoughts he couldn’t stop himself. He got up from his seat in the front row and walked down the isle towards the back. He didn’t care about the witnesses who saw him, he didn’t care about anything except for her and she was about to belong to someone else. He just couldn’t stand by and watch and so he walked away.  
Isabel looked at Max first before turning to Jesse. She didn’t want to stand him up but at the same time she couldn’t leave Michael alone.

She had to ask why he had abruptly left.

“Give me a minute,” Isabel said to Jesse.

“Isabel,” he said to her.

“It’ll just take a minute, I promise.”

Before Jesse could answer Isabel was already following Michael. She found him in the reception area away from the crowd.

“Michael, everything okay?”

“Go back to your wedding, Isabel.”

“Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

“You don’t need me there.”

“What do you mean I don’t need you there, you’re family, of course I need you.”

“No you don’t!” he said taking a harsher tone that Isabel hadn’t expected.

“What is going on with you?”

“It’s nothing,” he said bringing his voice back down to normal.

“If it’s nothing then why are you acting this way?”

“Forget it.”

“I can’t just forget it, Michael. Something is clearly going on with you. Whatever it is maybe I can help.”

“Not a chance.”

“Not a chance, what does that even mean?”

Michael looked at Isabel. There was a sharpness in his gaze. She’d seen that look before so she was expecting something, she just didn’t know what.

“It involves you,” he admitted.

“Me?”

Michael took a deep breath. Knowing she would not let it go he had to tell her. She might not like it but it was the only way he could be free as selfish as that was but she had to know before the wedding. He was an idiot he knew after all only an idiot would do the thing he was about to do and it would change everything. He was willing to take that risk especially now that she’d come to find him.

“Don’t marry him, Isabel,” he finally admitted. Isabel stood still. Had she heard him right she wondered. He couldn’t have but he repeated it, “Don’t marry him.”

Isabel didn’t know what to do with this confession.

“Now,” Isabel said as she started to get angry. “You decide to do this now on my wedding day? This is supposed to be the happiest moment of my life and you’re doing this?”

“I couldn’t just sit there and watch you marry someone else.”

“What the hell, Michael, I thought you were okay with this.”

“I tried to be.”

“Then what changed?”

“You know what changed. You’ve seen them too I know you have.”

Isabel shook her head, “No, no nothing has changed."

“Everything has changed, you're just to afraid to admit it.”

“Well I don’t care what we’ve seen it doesn’t matter okay?”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Michael please. It’s crazy. We’ve never even been together, not in this life anyways.”

“Maybe we were wrong. Maybe we should be. You can’t stand there and tell me you haven’t thought about it.”

Isabel stood in place. She could feel her eyes begin to water which was the last thing she wanted. Most of all the last thing she needed was to be afraid, to be afraid of what she’d seen, to be afraid that Michael had been right. 

She couldn’t deny there had been moments. She could feel Michael’s eyes on her the night she and her girlfriends danced in the Crashdown. She could remember the simple flirting which they’d passed off as nothing more than friendly moments but now as Michael spoke she couldn’t help but see those moments in a different light as something more.

“You’ll have to lie to him every day,” said Michael, “Can you really do that? I know you, Isabel, more than anyone. You don’t have to lie to me.”

Isabel hated that she was right. She didn’t want him to be. He had been her best friend since they were kids. He knew her more than her own brother. She couldn’t deny any of it. She couldn’t deny him.

“Don’t do this,” Isabel whispered.

“Don’t do what,” Max said from the doorway.

Isabel and Michael looked at each other for a moment and then turned to see Max.

“What’s going on?” Neither of them said a word. “Are you okay Iz?” he asked as he saw her tears.

“I’m fine,” she lied.

“Okay is someone going to tell me what’s going on or do I have to figure it out on my own.

“It’s nothing, Maxwell,” Michael said.

“Nothing,” Isabel repeated.

“It doesn’t look like nothing.” No one said anything and Max couldn’t help notice the way Michael and Isabel were not making eye contact. “Everyone’s waiting for you, Isabel. Jesse’s starting to worry.”

“Yeah, um…just give me a minute okay?”

Max reluctantly left the room and made his way back to the garden where the ceremony was being held.

“I’m begging you, Michael. Don’t ruin this for me.”

Michael nodded, “Okay, if that’s what you want. I had to try.”

“It’s what I want.”

Michael nodded and felt defeated. He knew it was unfair to Isabel but he had to at least have tried and now that he did there was nothing left he could do.

Isabel walked away from him and made her way to the restroom. At the mirror just above the sink she could see how bad she looked. Her eyes were swollen red, dried tear streams ran down her face and her makeup was smeared.

She placed her hands on the counter and shook her head. How could this be happening she wondered. Why now, why today of all days had Michael decided to come out to her about all of this? She was about to be married to a wonderful man and he had an on-again-off-again relationship with one of her friends. Only recently had it been off. Is that why he had done it? Was she just the rebound girl for him? Isabel shook her head. No of course she wasn’t. She was the girl for him and they both knew. They knew it for a while. The only problem was that neither of them had been brave enough to attempt the chance of being with each other.

“Get a grip,” Isabel said to herself. “It meant nothing.”

Despite saying the words out loud she knew they weren’t true. As if she hadn’t been nervous enough over the wedding now she was even more nervous due to the revelations coming to light. No, she was marrying Jesse. She needed to marry him, especially now. He made her happy and that’s the way it was supposed to be. Isabel tossed away what she had seen in her dreams, in the memories. She would be Mrs. Ramirez and that was it.

She shook her head to gain some sense of control. She looked at herself in the mirror, not liking how disheveled she looked she ran her hand over her face and within seconds her face was as good as new.

Having a new sense of confidence she walked out and made her way to the garden, to Jesse. Everyone watched in confusion as she got settled. She then watched as Michael silently returned to his seat.

No, she told herself, no what happened never happened and yet now she couldn’t get it out of her mind. She couldn’t get the memories out of her mind either. None of this was written on her face but she had to get the thoughts out of her mind and she did her best to do so.  
She turned to the minister and then Jesse as she did her best to focus.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah…yes, yes. I’m ready. The faster we get this over with the better…” Isabel bit her lip as she realized how bizarre that sounded. She backtracked, “I just meant because I’m ready to be your wife. I didn’t mean to leave just now.”

“Then why did you?”

“Jesse, we’re standing in front of everyone,” she said feeling embarrassed.

“Just answer the question. Do you even want to get married?”

“Of course I do, I just had to tie up a loose end.”

“Okay if you’re sure.”

“I am, I promise.”

Jesse smiled and then nodded to the minster. He began the long sermon which Isabel wished he would finish up.

During the ceremony however it seemed her life at the moment or her previous life for that matter, didn’t care if she got married. Isabel closed her eyes and brought her left hand to her temple. Visions of her life long passed crossed through her mind.

“Isabel,” Jesse asked with concern in his voice.”

“It’s nothing.” She focused again. “Continue.”

The minister did as he was told and again she brought her hand to her temple, tightening her eyes with more force than before.  
She saw herself standing next to the ocean but it was different than others. She knew instantly that it was Antar. Behind her stood Michael dressed in a navy blue suit, a suit that she noticed as the rank of Max’s second in command.

“Are you okay,” Jesse asked. “Isabel if you need to stop or you don’t want to do this…”

“It’s just a headache. I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“I am,” she said. She took a quick glance at Michael and then back at Jesse. “I just need some Asprin.”

“I’ll go get it,” Liz said immediately.

“No it’s fine,” Isabel said. “I will.”

To add more confusion to the spectators and to Jesse, she walked over and grabbed Michael by the shoulder.

“Hey,” he said to her.

“Now, Michael.”

“Isabel,” Jesse called out.

Isabel ignored him as she and Michael walked away. 

The two of them were back in the reception area where they’d talked before. Neither of them spoke as Isabel paced for a moment. Michael let her fume and then she stopped and turned to him.

“What are you doing, Michael?”

“I’m not doing anything. I can’t control any of this.”

“Is this why you said all of those things before, because you’ve been having the visions too?”

“No. Don’t you think I would have said something sooner had that been part of the plan?”

“So it’s just a coincidence then or did you just decide to do it all of a sudden to ruin my wedding?”

“I didn’t plan on this, Isabel. At the same time I just wanted you to know you still had an option before you went off and married him.”  
“It’s a little too late for that.”

“Is it?”

“Yes.”

“You know the funny thing though, I actually believe you, with all of it. This isn’t like the last time.”

“They’re memories.”

“Of us.” She looked at him, “What’s happening, Michael?”

“What do you want to happen?”

“No, no games.”

“Fine you don’t want to play games then how’s this: I already told you how I felt. And I know you said you wanted Jesse.”

“Yes.”

“Then why do you keep coming after me? I made the choice to get up and leave the first time. I made the choice to stay the second time. You could have chosen to go on with the wedding without me. You don’t need me there, not really. Then despite our memories you could’ve chosen to ignore them. They’re just memories, we should treat them like other memories but instead you made a big deal, claiming a headache and brought me here.”

Isabel froze because what he was saying was right. This whole thing had been a mess. Yes Michael had left the wedding but she didn’t need to follow him. She didn’t need to grab him from his sat and make a huge scene yet that’s exactly what she’d done. She thought about her family and friends, thought about how confused they must’ve been. She thought about Jesse whom she had just left at the alter and how strange this must have seem to him. Then there was Michael, her best friend but never a brother. A lover in another life and now something different all together.

“We can’t,” Isabel finally said, “Michael this can’t be.”

“Why not?””

Isabel remembered those very words from a year ago back when she’d thought she could be pregnant which turned out to be a false alarm. Now their words had a different meaning, more adult like.

“Look, if what you want is to marry Jesse then fine I’ll back off but if it’s not then at least be honest with me and tell me. I’m sorry I said those things earlier, I was out of line.”

“Then why did you?”

“Guess when it came down to it I figured we might have had a shot before you said ‘I do’. Bad timing I know but I saw you up there and I thought about when I saw you with Grant and Alex and even then it didn’t sit well.”

“And yet there was you and Maria. Did you ever stop to think about how I might’ve felt seeing you with her?”

“That bothered you?”

“Yeah,” Isabel admitted, “I guess in a way it kind of did and I’m not just saying these things because of everything you just told me or because of the memories or even when we found out about who we were to each other. You wanted me to be honest, well this is me being honest. Has it bothered me that you’ve been with Maria, of course it has Michael. I’ve just been too scared to admit it. That was supposed to be my own secret and it’s over for us Michael. Things have changed so none of it even matters.”

“Of course it matters. You’re not married yet. Instead you’re here with me. As for Maria, you don’t have to worry about her, we broke up.  
”  
“Since when?”

“Since about a month ago. She thought with all of this wedding stuff that I might have some unresolved issues with you and Jesse.”

“Which you clearly don’t,” Isabel said with a laugh.

It felt good to Michael to see her smile again.

“Clearly not,” he teased with a laugh. “No, I’m serious though, Iz. She was right.”

Isabel nodded, “I guess you weren’t the only one.”

For a moment they looked at each other, both remaining silent, neither one of them moving. The world around them stopped. What happened next was no dream, no memory. They wafted toward each other like the ocean to the shore. Michael grabbed Isabel by her waist, Isabel let herself be taken in my him, no longer scared, knowing that she was safe with him. Their lips met, their first in this lifetime. They got deeper, fell harder. There was nothing beyond them. Nothing else mattered. The outside world was long gone. It felt so natural, so easy as if the desire had been there all along, long before any of the destiny issue. It went further back than that and yet beyond it at the same time. They were alone and it was satisfying. 

“What the hell,” Jesse saw as he came to find his fiancé kissing Michael.

Isabel and Michael pulled away from each other. 

“Jesse,” she said, coming back to reality.

Without a word Jesse left and as he did she turned to Michael, fear in her eyes before she went after Jesse. She found him only a couple feet ahead.

“Jesse, wait,” she called out to him.

“For what, some kind of explanation, no thanks.”

“Jesse you don’t understand.”

He stopped walking and turned to look at her.

“I don’t understand, I think it was pretty obvious Isabel. Guerin of all people, I thought you were supposed to be brother or sister or something.”

Isabel shrugged. “It’s kind of complicated.”

“Didn’t look all that complicated to me. Looked pretty heated actually. You’ve never kissed me like that, ever.”

“Jesse please, we didn’t mean for it to happen.”

“So now it’s a ‘we’ thing? I asked you to marry me and you said yes. I asked you just right now if you were sure and you said yes and now you go abandon me and make me look like complete fool.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to I just had to…”

“Tie up loose ends what does that even mean and why did it have to involve you kissing him?”

What could she tell him? How could she tell him that her kissing Michael had been part of tying up those loose ends? At least that’s what the kiss should have been. Nothing but a goodbye, a final end to a history that they, that she, thought could be ignored. Instead it had sprung up into something new. A regular goodbye could have sufficed. She didn’t have to kiss him but instead she had and it hadn’t just been her. Michael had gravitated toward it as well. Except that maybe he had wanted it longer, no that wasn’t true. She had wanted to also for quite some time but she’d forced herself to have a normal life. Michael didn’t want her to marry Jesse, did that even matter? Of course Michael’s feelings mattered. Ultimately what it came down to was that she wouldn’t have kissed him if she hadn’t wanted to and that scared her. She and Michael had never been a thing, had never even talked about and now that it was all out on the surface, it was real and it was happening too quickly.

“You see,” Jesse said taking Isabel out of her thoughts, “the fact that you even have to think about it makes me wonder if you even want to go through with this wedding at all.”

“Jesse, I…”

“I’ll call off the wedding.”

“Call it off?”

“Or postpone it or whatever. I’ll handle it all. I just need some time to think and from where I stand so do you.”

Once Jesse was gone Isabel turned to see Michael standing there.

“How long have you been standing there?” she asked.

“Not long. I’m sorry, Isabel.”

Isabel shook her head. “You know I actually want to be angry with you but I’m too angry at myself right now, Michael,” she said moving passed him.  
*****  
A short time later Isabel stood in front of the mirror in the dressing room. She had already changed into a pair of jeans and blouse.   
Tears had only now begun to stream down her face but before she could fully cry or wipe them away there was a knock on the door and it opened. It was Liz and Maria who entered. Isabel was grateful it had been them instead of her mother. She would have hated to deal with the ‘I told you so’s.’ 

“Oh my god,” Liz said, “Jesse told us what happened.”

Isabel turned to the mirror again and with a wave of the hand over her face she was back to her normal looking self, no tears.

“Everything?” Isabel asked as she began to panic.

“Well not everything, everything,” said Maria. “Was there more?”

“He just said the wedding was off,” Liz said to her.

“Off, he said the wedding was off?” Isabel asked as she now became confused.

“Was he supposed to have said something else,” asked Liz.

Isabel looked at them, “Yes… no… I don’t know.”

“Does this have anything to do with Spaceboy?”

“Maria!”

“What I mean we all saw what just happened back there. You did go after him the first time and you basically left your own wedding and grabbed him out of his seat. What is going on with you two?”

“Nothing,” Isabel said a little too forcefully.

Maria looked at her not buying it. “Whenever someone says the word ‘nothing’ it’s usually something. Look whatever it is that’s cool. I mean we’re so over so if you’re like into him…”

“I’m not!” Isabel said strongly

“Oh my god,” said Maria, “you totally are!”

Liz looked at her best friend, “Maria, would you stop?”

Maria ignored her friend and continued. “Despite this whole wedding thing, despite Jesse, you’re not just into him are you, something happened just now didn’t it? What’d he like kiss you or something?”

Rather than give a direct answer Isabel walked away. “I have to go,” she said to them.  
*****  
Isabel knew she was being childish as she sat on some nearby rocks in the desert near the entrance of the cave where the group often met. What she really should’ve been doing was talking to Jesse instead, trying to explain but how did you explain to your current fiancé that you had a history with someone else but on a different world? Maybe she could lead with that, how in another lifetime she and Michael were once involved. People referred to their past as that kind of thing sometimes. It was just a simple fib that didn’t need anything more but that was the thing wasn’t it, for her it had literally been another lifetime, a lifetime that Jesse could never know about. He didn’t know her and he never would. Another lie. No there was no way of explaining that kiss away and she knew it. To him all he would’ve only seen was that she had cheated on him. It would lead to them fighting and she was too stressed out to deal with that tonight.

She had been so distracted that she didn’t hear the roar or see the jeep pull up and come to a stop. Max got out of the driver’s side.

“Crazy day hu,” Max said as he walked over.

“What are you doing here, Max,” she asked as he took a seat beside her. “Did mom send you or Liz and Maria, oh I know how about Michael?”

“No one sent me, Isabel. I wanted to see if you were okay. Figured this is one of the placed you would come to when you wanted to be alone.”

“Then leave me alone.”

“Not this time. You and I have always been able to talk to each other about anything so I’m here, talk to me.”

Isabel remained silent but it was her tears that gave her away. She hated crying sometimes but she couldn’t control it.  
“Whatever it is, it’s clearly got you upset. What’s going on?”

Isabel wiped away her tears and composed herself, “It doesn’t matter.”

“Does it have anything to do with Michael?” Isabel looked at him and froze. “You two weren’t exactly discreet today.”

Isabel shook her head. She figured what was the point. Max had already figured it out anyways.

“It’s um, it’s kind of strange,” Isabel began, “Max I’ve started to remember things.”

“What kind of things?”

“Things about us from our past back home.”

“You mean…”

“As in home, home. I remember us, me and Michael. I won’t go into detail but I’ve seen things that have made me start to question, question more I mean.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“About five months.”

“Five months, and I’m barely finding out about this now, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because of this, because I knew how freaked out you would get. You hate when things from back home come up. You just want everything to be normal well you know what, so do I. It’s been building for a while though, Michael and I, our memories. I’ve tried to ignore it, pretend it wasn’t there, focus on my normal relationship with Jesse, put all my attention into making it work. Then he has the nerve to get up and leave during the ceremony and what do I do, I leave the ceremony too and end up talking to Michael. I just thought ‘he’s my best friend I have to at least see what’s wrong with him.’ I didn’t expect…. I mean…”

“Didn’t expect what?”

Isabel took a breath and looked at her brother. Afraid to tell him the next part but knowing she had to.

“For him to kiss me.”

She turned away and looked off into the distance as Max sat there stunned. When she spoke again she spoke more to herself. “And you want to know the funny thing, the funny think is I wanted that. God I wanted that for so long and I know he has too. I’ve felt it and not just today. It’s been there for years. Neither of us just couldn’t face it and then today happened…” Isabel stood up and walked a few feet, arms crossed.

“God what is wrong with me? I’m about to marry Jesse and there I am kissing Michael. Who does something like that?”

Max stood and walked over to her. “You love him.” Isabel didn’t know what to say to Max’s admission, an admission she knew was her own. “You’re not the only one who didn’t want to face it, Iz. We all didn’t. We all knew though, even Maria on some level. It wasn’t really perceptible until today.”

“Even if that’s true…”

“Which you know it is.”

“It can’t happen, Max.”

“Why not?”

“Because of Jesse.”

“No, that’s not it.”

“What do you mean that’s not it, of course it is.”

“No, I think it’s because you don’t want to end up like me and Tess.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You don’t want to accept that it’s your destiny. Even though it’s always been there like you say there’s a reason for all of it. It led up to it and you know what that’s okay.”

“How is it okay? Your ex-girlfriend murdered Alex, she left back to Antar and she took your son with her. How is any of that okay?  
“You’re right, it sucks. I hate what she’s done and it’s all my fault. Here’s the thing, Isabel, you and Michael aren’t me and Tess. You can have better. You’ve seen better. You’ve seen yourself happy with him and your own son.”

Isabel cringed at that last part.

“And you remember. I never got those memories with Tess. Yeah she was my wife but I don’t remember any of it. You do and so what if it’s destiny does that even matter? From what I can tell you’ve been happy in both those dreams and those memories and I’ve seen how you are with him. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

Isabel looked away from Max. Was that it then, was he right? Deep down she knew he was. The last time they’d ever really talked about it was on her eighteenth birthday and he told her she did not belong with Grant. She in turn had admitted to the both of them that neither of them wanted to think about it. For the most part after that it had been easy enough. 

Now despite their surfaced memories they were starting to fall for each other in this life at the most inconvenient time and Isabel didn’t know what to do.  
*****  
“Okay, Spaceboy,” Maria said as she barged into Michael’s place.

He was sitting watching tv still now in a pair of jeans and t-shirt. “What the hell,” he said to her.

Michael got up and walked over to the fridge.

“I know what happened today,” Maria said to him

“I’m not talking about that with you.”

“Well too bad cause I am. You kissed her, what’s that all about?”

“None of your business.”

“Look I’m all for exploring your options since we broke up but Isabel, really? I mean I guess I kind of always figured but really?”

“So what if it is?”

“You know she’s engaged to Jesse right? I mean if it hadn’t been for you she’d be married right now and off to La Jolla.”

“Don’t you think I know that, don’t you think I know what a mess I’ve made.

“Oh I know. Then what is wrong with you?”

“Hey, she didn’t have to follow me. She could have easily gotten married without me there.”

“You’re joking right? Aside from Max you are the most important person in her life. No one even comes close, not even Jesse. What is it, you don’t he’s good enough for her?”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to it’s written all over your face. Why now, Michael? We’ve broken up several times before now. You could have had all the chances you want even before we met. Why didn’t you take them then?”

“You want to know why?”

“That’s what I asked isn’t it?”

“Fine. Seeing her in that dress, seeing her standing there with him I realized I didn’t want her to marry some other guy so yeah I don’t think he’s good enough for her. I wasn’t going to stick around for that.”

“Didn’t you give her your blessing, weren’t you happy for her?”

“Yeah I was but I was an idiot to say I was okay with it.”

“She deserves to be happy, Michael.”

“I know that.”

“Do you? I get it, you just don’t want her to be happy with him.”

“He doesn’t deserve her. She’s way too good for him. I remember…we have a history, I’m not ready to give that up.”  
“You remember what?”

“The times we’ve had without him. We had it good. I don’t want that friendship to change.”

“No, no that’s not what you were going to say. You remember what, Michael?”

Michael walked over to the couch where he motioned Maria to take a seat.

“I remember the life I had with Isabel before.”

“Before you mean like…”

“Like on my home planet. I remember what I was like, what she was like,” he said, his eyes beginning to glisten and take a delicate tone in a way he’d never talked about Maria. “I remember what we were like together.”

There was a momentary silence and then for a second all Maria could respond with was, “Oh.” She took a quick breath, “How long?”

This time Michael’s tone changed again. “Five months,” he said with a small amount of guilt.”

Maria tensed, “Five months. Five months. We’ve only been broken up for a month. Five months?”

“Hey I couldn’t control them.”

“Right just like you couldn’t the last time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

“Wait are you talking about those dreams I had with Isabel?”

“Dreams you never told me about. You were dreaming about her. I thought you were having a baby together. Not once did you mention dreams.” Maria put her hands up in defeat. “You know what it doesn’t matter. It’s fine. Five months.”

“So what?”

“So what, Michael the whole time we were together was under nothing but false pretenses. Why didn’t you just tell me, why hide it?”

“Because I didn’t think it mattered and because she’s with Jesse.”

“And because you’ve been with me.”

“I wasn’t going to say that.”

“Whatever. She’s still with Jesse at least she was until you acted like a complete jackass and ruined it for her. How long have you been in love with her?”

“Who said I was in love?”

“How long?”

Michael sighed in defeat. “Since we were kids.”

“Wow so I always have been second best. Makes sense I guess since you two are nearly always together. The way she acted when you had that fever a year ago, that’s when I knew. Guess I just always wanted things to be different but they’re not are they? Nothing’s ever changed for you has it, it’s always been her.”

“I tried, Maria, I swear. I am sorry.”

Maria shook her head. She was so exhausted from their conversation. She knew her relationship with Michael was over for good. There was no going back. Just like Michael didn’t believe Jesse was good enough for Isabel, Maria now knew for sure she was no longer good enough for him, she never had been.

Moving passed her anger she asked, “So what are you going to do about Jesse. I mean you kind of did just ruin the wedding. I’m assuming you’ve got some kind of master plan.”

“Not really. Kissing her was as far as I got.”

“Well that’s just great.”  
*****  
The next several weeks weren’t easy on anyone. Isabel’s parents tried to talk to her but to no avail. Her friends tried to talk to her but that hadn’t worked either. Maria seemed surprisingly okay with all of it but it was awkward talking to her. The only one who seemed to get through was Max and he had become her rock in a way that he’d never been before.

Jesse said he need time to think and he’d meant it. He’d been the one to postpone the wedding despite Isabel’s objections. They’d fought and the arguments were always about the same issue of her kissing Michael and her abandoning him at the altar. She couldn’t discuss Michael fully, not really, not the way she wanted to, not in a way he would understand and certainly not in a way he would have liked. She had tried to explain as best she could but it wasn’t enough. Finally Isabel had to let go at least until he was ready to come to her.  
Then there was Michael. The two hadn’t been on speaking terms since the wedding. To make matters worse more memories continued and in a much stronger capacity. Though Isabel had at some point gotten involved with someone else and had betrayed her family, or so she’d been told but had no recollection it had been little in comparison to what she had with Michael. They’d grown up together, much like they had on Earth, they had been best friends as they had been on Earth. The only difference was that they had been involved, engaged.  
Isabel and Michael were getting to the point where the memories were becoming so intense that they would soon have to face them. Even Isabel’s parents were beginning to notice the distance.

“I haven’t seen Michael around lately,” Diane said one day.

“And that’s a problem?”

“Well it’s just that you two are so close. I know things have been strenuous since the wedding but it’s been weeks, Isabel. I’m sure he had his reasons.”

“Had his reasons, why are you taking his side on this?”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side, sweetie, all I’m saying is isn’t it time for you to patch things up?”

“It’s not that simple,” Isabel said softly.

“Why not?”

“Mom, I can’t talk to you about this. I just can’t,” Isabel said and then walked away.

Another week passed making it a month since the wedding disaster. Isabel tried to give Jesse the space he needed but she had to know what was going on what he was thinking and so she took a picture of her and Jesse and placed her finger on it and drifted off. 

Jesse’s dreams were casual at first and then they would flip like pages from a book. Each one was about her. They were simple at first, happy dreams but later in the story she would see them arguing with him walking away and then there would be Michael. She watched as Jesse saw that it was Michael standing at the altar instead of him. She watched over and over as he saw the kiss from his eyes. Her betrayal had hurt him that much as well it should. She watched as each time she gave the engagement ring back to him which she didn’t deserve and he didn’t deserve her. Isabel saw as Jesse sighed while he said over and over “I’m not good for you. I never was,” while they continued their conversation. 

“I want you, Jesse.” 

“No you don’t. I’m just your excuse for wanting a normal life. Nothing about this is normal, Isabel. If it was you wouldn’t have kissed him. I don’t belong to you, I never did.”

“I don’t belong to anyone.”

“No of course not but it’s obvious who you really want.”

With that said Isabel watched as Jesse stood and saw dream Isabel fade into the black.

Moving her finger away from the picture, Isabel opened her eyes. She’d wanted to cry but there were no tears and she knew why.

“Jesse,” Isabel said three days later after dreamwalking him when she saw him walk into the Crashdown. She’d been talking with Liz and Maria at the counter.

“I was hoping I’d find you here,” he said to her. “Can we talk?”

Isabel took a deep breath knowing what was coming. “Sure.”

“Privately?”

“Yeah of course.”

Liz and Maria watched as Isabel left as if to wish her good luck.

Jesse looked at the lamp posts where the bulbs had shattered.

“They still haven’t fixed those yet? That’s the second or third time they’ve broken like that.”

Isabel covered easily as she’d been the cause of them. The first time had been with Michael, Isabel shook that memory away, and the second and third time had been when she’d walked alone.

“Strange,” she replied. “You’d think they would get shatter resistant bulbs or something.”

“You’d think.”

The two walked in silence for a moment before Isabel finally asked, “You wanted to talk?”

“Yeah. Isabel I’ve had plenty of time to think and…”

Isabel took the engagement ring off of her finger. “You want this back don’t you?” Jesse just looked at her. “You’re not the only one who’s been doing a lot of thinking.”

Despite all of the arguing they had, well a few, and since she’d been waiting for Jesse to be the one to break the ices she’d used her powers on him. In every dream he imagined the worst. She watched as he broke up with her time and time again. He couldn’t turn away from her kissing Michael almost as if he’d been paralyzed by what he’d seen.

When she pulled out of the dreams she thought about him and she thought about Michael. She also thought about herself and her wants and her needs. What she wanted was to be more human than alien. Just by using her powers on Jesse was only a reminder that she wasn’t but she also needed something more that not even Jesse could provide.

“I’m trying here, Isabel, and I want this to work but it can’t. Not after everything that has happened.”

“Because you can’t stop seeing me with Michael you mean.”

“Yes but it’s not just about that.”

“Then what is it Jesse?”

“You don’t think I’ve noticed how you are with him?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re different when you’re with him. You’re happier. I’ve never seen you that happy before at least not with me.”

“What do you want from me Jesse?”

“The fact that you even have to ask me that answers the question. It’s about you and him.”

“Well incase you haven’t noticed there is no me and him. We haven’t talked in a month.”

“Still doesn’t mean there’s nothing there.”

“He’s my best friend, Jesse, nothing more than that.”

“Best friends don’t kiss the way you two do. I mean it’s like you two have kissed like that before.”

Pieces of her own dreams and memories came into view.

“Well we haven’t.”

“Could’ve fooled me. Let me ask you something. IF I hadn’t been in the picture or Maria for that matter would you two have gotten together?”

“Jesse, you’re talking in hypotheticals. I can’t answer that.”

“You’re right, I guess you can’t.”

“Jesse, what I have with you is completely different than what I have with Michael. With him it’s just so complicated.”

“See that’s the thing, Isabel, it’s not.”

“It was just one kiss are you really punishing me for that?”  
“It’s not a punishment. What I saw, the reason I can’t get it out of my head is because a kiss like that is one you can fit a hundred lifetimes into it.

Maybe not a hundred lifetimes, Isabel thought, but close enough. No she condoned she shouldn’t be thinking like that at all.

“You love him,” Jesse continued. “Whether you see it or not you do and I can see that you do.”

Isabel only looked at him. It had been so obvious to everyone that she loved Michael, was it really a surprise that he would see it too? There was no point in hiding it now. They were over and all that could be done now was to move forward. Was it painful, of course it was but better now than later in the marriage when it would be too late.

“I wish things could have been different.”

“Me too. This is going to sound crazy, but the past couple of nights I couldn’t help but think these things were meant to be which is weird since normally I don’t believe in things like that.”

Isabel smiled, “Trust me that’s not crazy at all.”

“Then go to him, Isabel. It’s what you want isn’t it?”

“What about you?”

“I’ll manage. Always have. You should go. Go be with him..”

Isabel nodded and walked over to place a kiss on his cheek. When she pulled back she said, “Goodbye, Jesse.”

Isabel took a deep breath as she saw him. She’d been at many places in the desert but not this crevasse. This was different, it was special. It was the placed where she’d made love with Michael a little over a year ago even if it had been in their dreams. There was no backing out and she didn’t want to. She’d waited too long for this.

“How did you know?” Michael asked.

“I didn’t, not really. I just kind of hoped since this is where we….” She smiled at him as she walked over. “I never kept my end of the deal.”

“What deal was that?”

“That I’d come for you, whenever you needed me.”

“Yes you did.”

“I don’t think me following you twice at my wedding counts.”

“I count it,” Michael said with assurance.

“Well, I need you too. Sorry it took a while and sorry about our little fall out.”

“I’m sorry, Isabel, I shouldn’t have kissed you that day. You know I thought that maybe if I did it would bring some kind of closure to us. Some kind of way to, I don’t know maybe I just wasn’t thinking at all.”

“No, I’m glad you did.”

“You are?”

“Michael, you have been apart of my life for so long and I know I betrayed you in that other life, that is something I will never be able to forgive myself for but things are different now. Despite all that we’ve been together forever. I don’t want that to be over, do you?”

“Is that what you want?” Michael asked, reversing the question.

“It’s what I want,” Isabel replied.

“What about Jesse?”

“Gone. It was mutual. I know it’s what he wanted and the more I thought about it the more it’s what I wanted too.”

“You dreamwalked him didn’t you?”

“I couldn’t help it. He wouldn’t talk and I had to know and that’s just it.”

“What is?”

“You know me, Michael, more than anyone. I don’t have to lie to you. I can just be me and I can’t be like that with Jesse. Sooner or later it would have torn us apart. I don’t have to worry about that with you. I just have to ask, with Jesse now out of the picture what does that mean for us?”

“You tell me.”

Isabel took his right cheek in her left hand and gently but slowly she kissed his lips before pulling back.

“Does that answer your question. I love you, Michael, I never stopped. Sorry it took me so long to say it.”

“I would’ve waited. I love you too, Isabel.”

The two smiled at each other. Their lips met again softly and then gradually increased in intensity. It matched their first kiss but it grew into something more. They slowed down and Michael took Isabel’s hand, he lowered her, her back against the rocks as he lowered himself above her. He brought his lips to hers and the two grew deeper in a passion both had wanted for so long. It was by all means a dream come true.


End file.
